The man on the left grinned at her. "Don''t you yell at me. I''m not afraid of a


    barking dog."


    Joanna was speechless.


    The other man chimed in, "Hey,dy, we''re all God''s children. What makes you so special? Is your mouth about to expire? All you can say is ''get lost."


    Joanna frowned. She knew instantly who had sent them. "Marshall sent you, didn''t he?" She knew Marshall had a penchant for cruel pranks.


    The two men exchanged a puzzled look. "Marshall? Who''s that? An enemy of yours?"


    Natalie was taken aback. If not Marshall, then who? He was the only one with a motive.


    Smack! A hand cracked across Joanna''s face.


    "Ah!" Joanna cried out, a mixture of shock and fear. No one had ever hit her in her entire life, except for Natalie.


    "Ugh, what a piercing shriek. So unpleasant," the man said with a look of disgust.


    Joanna''s pride was shattered.


    "You..."


    "Me what? We know you''re a woman. We won''ty a hand on you," the man said, flexing the hand he had just used to strike her.


    Joanna was furious. "You didn''ty a hand on me? You just did!"


    Smack! The other side of her face met the same fate.


    "Ah!" Tears of rage streamed down Joanna''s cheeks.


    She stumbled backward in terror as one of the men loomed over her, his eyes glinting with menace. "What are you so scared of? We just want to break your hands."


    Joanna''s hands clenched into fists. "What are you doing? Why would you break my hands? I''ve never done anything to you. Don''t go too far!" A major pianopetition wasing up next month. It was her ticket into the entertainment industry, a crucial step in her career. It was an event organized specifically for her by the esteemed Mr. Wilson.


    "Did Natalie send you?" It had to be her. Only Natalie knew how important thispetition was.


    But Natalie was too stupid for something like this. She wouldn''t attack unless provoked directly.


    "Natalie? Who''s that? Never heard of her. But we know you. You just graduated, haven''t you? Have you already forgotten whose ce you stole to get into that pianopetition?"


    Joanna froze, her eyes wide with shock.


    "Tsk. I just can''t stand to see a woman as vicious as you get away with it. I''m here to cause trouble: Do you remember Serena? You ruined herjust because she didn''t have she didn''t have money or power."


    The man''s fist connected with her face.


    "Ah!" Joanna''s vision went ck as pain exploded through her body.


    "Stop screaming," the man sneered. "Your voice is grating. Serena is dead, and it''s all your fault Joanne, you used your connections to steal her first-ce prize. I curse you to a miserable death." ''


    "Hey! What''s going on over there?" a voice called out. It was the police.


    The two men immediately took off, and the officer gave chase.


    "Ah..." Joanna watched them disappear, finally daring to breathe again.


    She clutched her chest, gasping for air. Her face throbbed with pain, but a wild sense of joy surged through her.


    "Haha..." She burst into manicughter. Serena was dead. That was great! With Serena gone, no one would ever know her secret.


    Joanna''s expression twisted into a predatory, ambitious grin under the dark sky. "Hahaha..." Sheughed and cried at the same time.


    She looked towards the distant viplex. That ce was her dream, their dream, the one they shared.


    It was where Sebastian lived.